Recently, I started reading an old textbook of mine for my Latin American politics class I took several years ago. As I read, I was becoming more and more shocked about the situations and events that shaped those countries. Central and South America for most of their history have been a playground for first the European powers then a battleground between the Soviet Union and United States. Governments rose and fell due to the machinations of foreign powers that were exerting their influence and battling over ideology.
Latin America was colonized mostly by Spain and Portugal with Britain and France claiming a few tiny territories. With the fall of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires, Latin American countries attempted to establish democracies and become independent. As the United States became more powerful and was filled with Manifest Destiny, they worked hard to take territory from Latin Countries. Mexico was forced to cede most of the West territories they had and then the Americans moved into Cuba. Cuba never had the option of statehood due to the issue of slavery in the mainland. Cuba’s black population were free and the American government was not willing to deal with this free group while reconciling having slavery on the mainland. Cuba remained a protectorate.
President Wilson was dedicated to promoting democracy and stability in the world order. American influence became much stronger in Latin America as the United States promoted their ideals upon the locals. The method the Americans used was to invade a nation that they perceived as unfriendly, then hold elections that would elect a government friendly to the United States and then leave. This process was frequently employed.
The Cold War was a series of proxy wars throughout the entire world that was fought by Soviet and western client states. Soviet and American troops never fought each other directly, but these superpowers propped up regimes loyal to their ideology and supplied weapons. Latin America became an important battleground between Soviets and Americans. The proximity to the United States cemented their appeal for manipulation. A Soviet friendly client state would imperil the Americans' security.
Fidel Castro’s overthrow of the Batista regime in Cuba and the alliance with the Soviet Union was terrifying for the United States. American politicians decided democracy was not as important as American friendly regimes. Brutal military dictatorships were supported by the Americans as they provided a strong defense against radical leftists. Dictators had more freedom to suppress communists and socialists with the military and secret police than a moderate civilian government. They also provided convenient bases of operations for American CIA operatives and military. Notable examples would include Panama and Honduras.
In several instances the United States had no problem directly or indirectly deposing an elected government that was too leftist for their tastes. President Allende of Chile was elected with an incredibly rare collation support of the three political parties ranging from left to right. His socialistic politics and reforms were alarming to the United States which caused his downfall. The Americans had a three-part plan to topple Allende. Cripple the Chilean economy, covertly support opposition leaders and facilitate General Pinochet’s coup. The military overthrew Allende, installed Pinochet as president and shot down Allende’s plane as he attempted to depart after resigning. Under Pinochet 2,000+ citizens would be tortured and killed by the regime. As Pinochet began to attract too much international condemnation the Americans quit supporting him. He created provisions to become Senator for Life and immunity from prosecution. He would face investigation, but would die before facing trial.
President Reagan was heavily involved with the Contra struggle against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The Iran-Contra Scandal was the result of meddling. At the time, Iran was classified as a state sponsor of terror and was under an arms sale embargo. The Regan administration supported a moderate faction in the Islamic Republic to oppose Iraq and negotiate the release of hostages from Lebanon. The United States would have Israel sell weapons to Iran through an intermediary to Iran to help Iran in the Iran-Iraq war, ship new arms to Israel, collect payment and send the profits to the Contras to help overthrow the Sandinistas. Under the Boland Amendment it was illegal to fund the Contras, so this plan was intended to circumvent Congress. President Reagan could not be directly linked to the deal and suffered little compared to his Defense Secretary and other staffers involved.
Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Panama and Venezuela all experienced intervention. Venezuela was unique however in that the coup attempt failed after 36 hours. President George W Bush was obviously opposed to Hugo Chavez and was happy to see the coup attempt. The new president very quickly alienated his supporters and it was found that Hugo Chavez had not officially resigned. Chavez was quickly restored and the Americans were further tarnished. Most recently the United Nations has played an important role in stability and helps facilitate peacekeeping.
Latin America has a long history of intervention which has led to instability and resentment.
